ADMC continues to develop its distribution strategy for EPL, Deal provides Humax with a strong foothold in the regional HD market
Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC) today announced an exclusive agreement with Humax, one of the world's leading manufacturers of set-top boxes. As part of the deal, Humax will handle the supply and sales of high-definition set-top boxes (HD STB) for the deployment of the English Premier League (EPL) sports programming in the Middle East and North Africa, via Abu Dhabi Al Riyadiya channels.
The agreement comes on the heels of ADMC's distribution strategy announced last month, which confirmed several EPL subscription platforms available to football fans, including a high-definition set-top box, IPTV, and streaming via broadband internet.
"We are committed to offering our audiences a high-quality viewing experience via the platform of their choice. We believed it was necessary to seek an established provider, capable of assisting our market entry in the subscription platform via HD STB, not only in its capacity as a manufacturer and supplier, but also as ADMC's strategic partner. Humax is a perfect fit for us, given its technological leadership, understanding of the market trends, and established regional presence," said Karim Sarkis, Executive Director of Broadcast at ADMC.
For Humax, the exclusive sales agreement is part of its plans to set out its HD STB technology throughout the MENA region. "As demand increases for television content delivered in HD, one of our key priorities is setting the stage for broadcasters. Over the past year we have experienced significant growth as our products have acquired traction in the HD broadcast market. We are on track to double our revenue in MENA region this year, through the remarkable growth of the HD STB business in particular," commented CEO Byun Dae-Gyu.
"We are especially pleased to be working with a premium entertainment provider of ADMC's caliber, to offer one of the platforms on which audiences across the Middle East and North Africa will watch their favorite EPL clubs and stars," concluded Byun Dae-Gyu.
Humax's set-top box was selected as the preferred solution based on the advanced integration of software, hardware and technical support availability. The STB is capable of viewing both high-definition and standard-definition channels. It is equipped with two smart card slots, for viewers' convenience, and has a secure chipset embedded for advanced protection against piracy attempts.
The high-definition set-top boxes will be marketed across the Middle East and North Africa ahead of the EPL 2010/2011 season start, in mid-August 2010. More details on availability and pricing will be made known in due course.
ADMC acquired the exclusive regional rights to the EPL for three consecutive seasons: 2010/2011, 2011/2012 and 2012/2013.
-Ends-
About English Premier League
The English Premier League (EPL) consists of 20 football clubs and is regarded as the world's best league football competition. ADMC has secured the live and exclusive television and digital broadcast rights for the EPL 2010 - 2013 seasons. The games will be available to viewers across the region on encrypted Abu Dhabi Al Riyadiya Channels which will be accessible via a high-definition set-top box, IPTV (Internet Protocol Television), and streaming via broadband Internet.
About Abu Dhabi Media Company
Abu Dhabi Media Company is one of the fastest growing, multi-platform media organizations in the region created in 2007 as a public joint stock company from the assets of Emirates Media Incorporated.
Abu Dhabi Media Company owns and operates a range of television channels (Abu Dhabi Al Oula, Abu Dhabi Al Emarat, Abu Dhabi Al Riyadiya, Abu Dhabi Al Riyadiya 2, Abu Dhabi +1 and National Geographic Abu Dhabi), and a network of radio stations (Abu Dhabi FM, Emarat FM, Star FM, Holy Quran FM, and Abu Dhabi Classic FM), as well as number of publications (Al Ittihad newspaper, The National newspaper, Zahrat Al Khaleej magazine and Majid magazine), and a number of other media related businesses, including Imagenation Abu Dhabi that develops, finances and produces full length feature films and digital content for Arabic and international markets; LIVE which owns a fleet of outdoor HD broadcast vans; and United Printing Press, a state of the art printing press. ADMC's Digital Group operates several digital assets including Getmo Arabia, goalarabia.com, and super.ae. In 2009 it formed two significant partnerships: VEVO, the online music video platform with Universal Music Group and Sony Music, and a first in the region MMOG joint-venture with Gazillion Entertainment.
Abu Dhabi Media Company employs 2174 people across its operating units, which include Publishing, Broadcast, Digital media, Distribution, and Printing.
The company is headquartered in Abu Dhabi with offices in Cairo, Dubai, Jeddah, Riyadh and Washington D.C.
About HUMAX
Humax is one of the world's largest manufacturers of digital set-top boxes, exporting its products to over 90 countries across the globe. The company has built a solid reputation as a leading supplier of high quality, feature-rich digital TV products, including Digital Television Recorders (DTRs), high definition (HD) set-top boxes and HD-ready integrated digital TVs with built-in PVRs. The company headquarters and R&D facility are based in Korea, with offices in Dubai, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US. Humax's HD Freesat set-top box, the FOXSAT-HD, was the winner of the 2008 ERT 'Brown Goods Product of the Year' award.
For more information please contact:
Julia Purcaru
Abu Dhabi Media Company
Tel: 00971 02 4144697
Email: julia.purcaru@admedia.ae
© Press Release 2010
